


Polaroids and Pumpkin Pie

by Rynmaru



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Berujeanmarco, Fluff, Halloween, Lighthearted Spoopyness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 00:05:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16482305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rynmaru/pseuds/Rynmaru
Summary: Reiner is eager to get into the spooky spirit of Halloween with his boyfriend; Porco is less enthused.





	Polaroids and Pumpkin Pie

**Author's Note:**

> This was initially a submission for Gallirei Weekend 2018, but life happened and so I decided to post it as a little Halloween contribution. Please enjoy!

October sucked ass. It was getting cold, school was in full swing, seasonal depression was rearing its ugly head just in time to obliterate any shred of motivation Porco had for studying for his midterms, and every basic, trend following, self-proclaimed Instagram model at his college was suddenly sporting flannel, swarming the quad and sidewalks like a hoard of plaid ants.

Porco kicked at the leaves that scuttled across the sidewalk, driven by the chilly breeze, hands shoved deep in the front pocket of his sweatshirt as he headed to the apartment he shared with his boyfriend Reiner Braun. Weighed down by his backpack he passed the Greek Life houses, all decked out in autumnal splendor with their leaf wreaths and carved pumpkins peering around every corner, grinning jack-o-lantern grins at him as he passed and reached the student apartments at the end of the street. Taking out his keys, Porco found the door already unlocked when he tried the handle and he smiled to himself. Reiner was back early. He stepped inside and kicked off his shoes. 

“I’m back.” He called, hearing noise from the kitchen and making for the sound. If Reiner was cooking he knew he would have to bite the bullet and try whatever concoction his boyfriend had whipped up, which usually turned out to be unconventional at best and nauseating at worse. But as he approached he was greeted by a pleasant smell and relaxed. Perhaps this would not be as bad as he feared. 

Reiner looked up, greeting Porco with a broad grin. “Pock! Hey, you’re just in time! Bertl and I just finished up.” 

Porco’s gaze drifted to Bertholt where the tall, dark skinned boy stood by the sink, washing the mounting pile of dishes that Porco and Reiner had let accumulate. 

“Bertholt…” 

“Hello, Galliard.” Bertholt said, giving him a warm smile. 

“Don’t you have boyfriends to be somewhere with?” Porco asked, a bit suspiciously. 

Bertholt shrugged, “Reiner asked me to come help him with a recipe. Jean and Marco can take care of themselves for a few hours.” 

He reached for a towel to dry his hands, in no rush to leave and unfazed by Porco’s rather hostile demeanor. Reiner took this moment to put an arm around Porco and tug him close. 

“Come try what we made! I managed not to burn it this time!” The pride in Reiner’s voice coaxed a smile from Porco. 

“Okay...What did you cook up this time?” 

Reiner lifted a rather messy but edible and intact pie from where it had been set to cool, a proud grin on his face. With his hands in oven mitts and a floral apron over basketball shorts and a football jersey Reiner cut an adorably ridiculous figure and Porco softened a bit. 

“That smells amazing, Reiner. Even if it looks like you dropped it on the floor.” 

“Ouch, thanks,” Reiner chuckled. “I was thinking we could have a date night in. You know. Order takeout, eat pumpkin pie, carve jack-o-lanterns to put on the balcony…” 

“Carve jack-o-lanterns?” 

“To celebrate the best day of the year!” 

“Seriously?” 

“Pock, we get free candy and can wear costumes to class without judgement!” 

“You went to Professor Magath’s class as He Man on the first day of school.” 

“I said without judgement! I was judged that day!” Reiner groaned. “Come on, Halloween’s so much fun!” 

Yeah, but you’re treating Halloween like a major holiday, why do we have to go all out with it?” Porco asked, not eager to spend date night with Reiner doing something as boring as pumpkin carving. 

“It is a major holiday!” Reiner insisted. “It’s like…like ghost Christmas! Right, Bertl?” 

Bertholt looked amused and shrugged, “I’m Jewish, Reiner. I don’t celebrate Christmas so I can’t speak to this.” 

“Then Halloween is like ghost Hanukkah!” 

“Not even remotely.” 

“Bertllll, back me up!” Reiner groaned. 

Chuckling, Bertholt put the last of the dishes away. “Sorry, but I’m with Galliard on this one. Halloween is overrated in my opinion. Too much hype for a mediocre holiday.” 

He went to hug Reiner while Porco watched, territorial even though he knew he had nothing to fear from Bertholt. 

“Thanks for having me come over. I’ll see you in class on Monday if I don’t see you this weekend.” 

“Okay…Bye, Bertl. Tell Jean and Marco I say hi.” 

Bertholt nodded and showed himself out. Porco sighed as he left and reached to pat Reiner’s shoulder. 

“Cheer up. We can go out and get something to eat like we always do and then find somewhere to hang out. I know one of the frats is having a party if you want to go to that.” 

Reiner shrugged, but then nodded and gave Porco a half smile. “Yeah…Sure, that sounds good.” 

“Great!” 

Porco started for his and Reiner’s room, tossing his bag on the bed and crashing, getting comfortable. He pulled out his phone and began replying to some texts from Pieck. 

He could hear Reiner moving around in the kitchen and wondered if he would be allowed a taste of that pie now or if he would have to wait. Laziness won out in the end though and he remained in bed, glued to his screen, rather than pursuing a snack. 

A text notification popped up on his screen. 

_-Hey, what did you say to Reiner? He’s acting strange-_

Porco raised an eyebrow. It was not often that he got a personal text message from Jean Kirstein. He responded quickly. 

_-I didn’t say anything. What do you mean strange?-_

_-He’s texting a lot of questions…-_

Porco rolled his eyes, exasperated. _–You gotta give me more than that. Pics?-_

_-No way, that’s a private conversation. I’m just trying to help you and him both out-_

_-The day I ask you for romantic advice is the day I’ve really hit rock bottom-_ Porco scoffed. 

_-Which one of us has two boyfriends?!-_

Touché. 

Porco tapped the back of his phone as he considered how best to reply before typing back: _-His questions don’t have anything to do with me refusing to carve pumpkins with him, does it?-_

_-Maybe-_

That was a yes. God dammit, Reiner. Porco grimaced. His child-at-heart boyfriend was sulking over a dumb holiday tradition he had not partaken in since he was six. 

_-Well he should get over it. We do what he wants all the time, this time I want to choose what to do-_

He received no response from Jean, left on read, and Porco set his phone aside. Something about his own words bothered him, though he could not put his finger on what it was. 

Sighing, Porco settled on his bed, hugging the bear Reiner had insisted on winning for him at a carnival, which Porco had grown attached to, much to Reiner’s glee. His gaze slid slowly over the collage of polaroid photos on his wall, remembering the events surrounding them. 

May 7th, 2017: He and Reiner had gone on their first official date where they both were publically out of the closet. Porco could still remember the mixture of fear and pride as he walked into the movie theatre with Reiner, hands clasped and fingers laced firmly together, not about to be torn apart. 

August 2nd, 2017: Reiner’s 18th birthday party. The two of them had ended up making out in Reiner’s bedroom in the middle of his party. Everyone knew what they had been up to, though no mention of it was made, the knowledge conveyed via winks and smug smiles that left Porco’s cheeks burning. He didn’t regret a moment though. 

September 19th, 2017: A somewhat clumsy and blurred selfie with the polaroid, portraying Reiner and Porco, flushed and sweaty as they grinned at the lens, commemorating six solid months since they had first gotten together with a game of laser tag. 

October 31st, 2017: Reiner posing suggestively in a Sailor Moon costume, something that left Porco cringing even as he laughed. It had been a small price to pay in order to convince Reiner to go to Atrox with him. If going as Sailor Moon was the condition then he would accept. It had been a hilarious night. 

February 14th, 2018: Reiner and Porco had gone on a fancy dinner date, a splurge for them with their tight college budget, and Reiner had told Porco that he seriously wanted to marry him when they got out of college. For once, Porco had been left without a snarky comment, merely reaching to hold Reiner’s hand tightly across the table. 

July 10th, 2018: Porco and Reiner both grinned at the camera, holding a sign that said “San Francisco or Bust!” They stood in front of Porco’s car, piled high with everything they needed to make the cross-country trip to visit Marcel who had just gotten back from his deployment overseas. 

That was the most recent picture of the two of them to adorn the wall. Once they returned to school there was just too much to do and too little time to take pictures. This wall held so many memories…some of them starting with either Porco or Reiner being reluctant to even try something new. 

_“But when did you ever regret doing something together?”_ A tiny voice in Porco’s head asked him. 

Porco sat up, shaking his head a little as he grabbed his phone and sent a text to Jean. 

_-Hey. I need your help-_

Reiner trudged back up the stairs towards his and Porco’s apartment, a bag of Chinese takeout in his hand. Porco had requested he get it, deciding he wanted to eat in that evening before going to the movies. He reached to open the door, fumbling a bit with his keys before unlocking it. The door swung open and he frowned as he was greeted by a pitch-black apartment. 

Stepping inside he turned on his phone flashlight and closed the door as he ventured further in, searching for the light switch that controlled the kitchen and living room. 

“Pock?” 

No answer. The television was on, filling the living room with a bluish glow and displaying the menu screen for Poltergeist. 

“Porco?” 

A hand touched Reiner’s shoulder just as he flicked on the lights and he let out a high-pitched shriek of alarm, dropping the takeout meal and whirling to grab the specter behind him and twist its arm behind its back. 

“Ow ow ow ow ow! Calm the fuck down, Reiner! It’s me!” Porco yelped. 

Reiner released him quickly. 

“What the fuck, Porco?! You scared the shit out of me! I thought you were a demon or something?” 

“An incubus?” Porco grinned slyly, rubbing his sore arm. 

“Shut up, now isn’t the time!” Reiner growled. “What the hell were you doing?!” 

Porco had the decency to look embarrassed. “I was trying to surprise you…Guess I went too far…sorry…” 

Reiner heaved a sigh. “I almost hit you…Think your pranks through next time-“ 

He broke off as he saw the kitchen table behind Porco. It was covered in an orange and black table cloth, a plastic cauldron in a place of honor at the center, filled with Halloween candy, and two large pumpkins sat before Porco’s and Reiner’s seats. 

“Porco…what’s going on?” Reiner asked, confused. “I thought we were going to the movies.” 

Porco shrugged, glancing back at the set up. “You said you wanted to carve pumpkins and eat takeout. I figured Halloween only comes around once a year...and honestly, I’ve never not had fun with you no matter what we do. So what the hell? Let’s celebrate ghost Christmas!” 

Reiner lit up, a grin spreading across his face before he swept Porco into a bear hug and pressed a kiss to his upturned nose. 

“You’re the greatest, Pock! Thank you!” 

Porco could not hide a grin of his own. “Put me down, dumbass! Let’s eat, I’m hungry and I want a bite of that pie you made earlier." 

When Porco and Reiner finally fell into bed together a little after midnight, pumpkins now grinned toothily as they stood vigil on the balcony, candy wrappers littered the table and floor, the remnants of a blanket nest remained on the couch, and a new photo of Porco and Reiner adorned the wall by Porco’s bed, featuring a disgusted Porco recoiling from the gooey pumpkin guts Reiner was thrusting into his face. 

In a black pen Porco had written: 

_“October 31th, 2018: Date night with Reiner. Best Halloween ever!”_


End file.
